The Scarlet Flash
by VyseN
Summary: The people of Konohagakure no Sato may have been able to break the young boy's bones, but his heart and will can not be crushed by anyone. Let's see if Naruto can fulfill his biggest dreams. Rated M for violence and eventual.. sexual intercourse.
1. Chapter 1

The Scarlet Flash

Christmas!

A time where families get together and celebrate with songs, laughter, good food and presents.

A time most people take for granted, since they don't know of any other way to spend this jolly holyday. For one ninja, this was the days he felt lonelier than ever before.

Uzumaki Naruto had never experienced the joys of spending holydays with family and friends. Uzumaki Naruto had neither!

Well, that's not entirely true. The past four years had been good for him. He had gained the trust and respect of many of his peers, and even dared to call a few of them his friends. However, he was always the one who had to come to them. They never asked him how his life was, and how he was doing. No, they just treated him like they would any other person their age that they happened to be friendly with.

When Naruto was born, he was chosen by the fourth Hokage, the greatest ninja in all of Hi no Kuni, to be the container of a great demon.

The Kyuubi had rampaged over the whole world after defeating the other eight bijuu in the Great War, and had finally entered Hi no Kuni's borders. Yondaime Hokage was the only one with enough strength to even stand a chance in defeating the demon, and he did.

Even with his wife and newborn son in the hospital back home, he proudly stood before the enormous demon in front of him, neither one of them even flinching. The battle lasted for hours, but everyone could see the demon slowly wearing the ninja out. After all, the Kyuubi had limitless stamina and nearly limitless chakra.

With his final chakra, the Yondaime summoned the Death God himself. The deal they made was Yondaime's soul for the entrapment of the demon inside a human vessel. As his parting gift, Yondaime wished for his son to be acknowledged as a hero in his home town. To be known as the son of the hokage, and the prison of the greatest Bijuu. That was the future he saw for his son, and he was ready to give his own life for the safety of his son's.

Even with good intentions like the ones of Namikaze Minato, or Yondaime Hokage as we know him, it was never realistic. No Uzumaki had ever been able to really see the darkness in the people they loved, and Yondaime was the same. He couldn't have known the pain he involuntarily caused his only son. The person he loved more than his own life. More than anything!

Naruto's mother knew what to expect from the little town, but couldn't tell her husband so. The Yondaime was granted enough time to say goodbye to his family before the Death God came to collect, and as he was cradling the little baby in his arms, seeing himself in the little boy, he knew his legacy would live on. He knew then that his son would grow up to be the strongest ninja ever known, and he would follow him from the other side. Namikaze Minato died with a smile on his face, hugging his wife and son.

Sadly, the word about the Kyuubi still being alive spread through the little village. The demon had killed so many loved ones, and even taken their beloved leader's life. The anger and hate could only lead to insanity and suffering.

Armed ninjas came to the hospital followed by just about the entire population of the city, and they knew what they had to do. They knew the Kyuubi had taken over the body of Yondaime's son, and corrupted the mind of his wife. They could not let them live!

When the Sandaime hokage of the Sarutobi-clan came to the hospital, it was too late. The woman Yondaime had chosen as his soul mate had passed away, killed while protecting her baby from the masses. There was nothing he could do for her, but that didn't stop him from ripping the spine out of her killer's back, forcing it down the throats of the others. Never had anyone seen the usually so kind and calm old man this angry, and no one ever wanted to see that sight again.

The boy was now an orphan. Sarutobi would take him in himself, if he didn't know for sure that he wouldn't be able to take care for the boy. So the boy ended up in an orphanage. The day after the baby lost everything, the Hokage told all the villagers that if anyone mentioned the Kyuubi from that day on would be severely punished, and the boy was to be off limits.

But as the Yondaime, Sarutobi had too much faith in the population of that cursed village. He believed that Naruto would be safe and never hurt again…

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Naruto's first Christmas was spent there. The usually so cold and colorless halls of the orphanage was covered with decorations, and lights where set up everywhere. The only place these children could call their home was now a place who deserved this title. But there was one room that differed from the others.

In this orphanage, all the children had their own rooms. Rooms covered with decorations and lights, and toys spread around from one wall to another. One room, however, was left the same. The children usually got gifts and toys on Christmas from some kind hearted villagers. One little boy, only 3 years old, never got anything. His room held the same shade of grey it always had, and the boy had no toys to play with. This boy was Uzumaki Naruto, the boy who was supposed to be the hero of the entire village.

Most of the children were brought to the open homes of families in the city, where they got presents and good food, and got to experience how it felt to be part of a family. No one wanted Naruto near their families. The boy spent Christmas crying alone in his room. Why did everyone hate him? Why wouldn't they even look at him without hate in their eyes? The little Naruto didn't know. The people at the orphanage was the same as the others, spitting at him when he walked by, yelling at him if he made himself known. He never got to make friends with the other orphans, because most of the time he was locked in his room.

Two eyes, clouded with unshed tears, looked out the only window in this room. They could see children laughing with their parents, and the looks of love the adults shoved them. He had never had anyone look at him that way.

Was his life a nuisance to everyone else? How could anyone look with such hatred at a boy not ever four years old? A boy who had never felt the loving arms of an adult since the day his parents was killed. He sat there, shaking as tears was shed. "It's only a few days" he whispered to himself as he hugged his legs.

Christmas went by, and the children returned to the orphanage with new clothes and toys. Naruto eyed them with envy, because he didn't own anything he could call his own. He had never owned a toy in his life, and every time he asked the other children if he could play with theirs, the adults would beat him until the medic-nins had to come mend his bones and heal his bleeding wounds.

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At four years old, Naruto had suffered more broken bones than most ninja would in their entire career. His head had been cracked open only the day before, and now he was lying in the corner of his room as the lady everyone in the orphanage called 'mom' was hacking away at him with a stick. The poor boy had bruises over his entire body, and was bleeding from his ears. That's when everything went black, and the boy entered a week-long coma.

When he woke up, he was in a room he had spent almost as long time in as his own room at the orphanage. He was in a hospital-room, covered in cables and whatever they put into a comatose patient. In a panic, he ripped the devices off his body before he jumped out of the bed. He knew how the nurses looked at him, and he had often returned from the hospital with bruises he didn't have when he came there in the first place. The sound of the heart monitor going over to a steady tone was the first sign for the beating he knew was coming.

The boy ran to the window and looked out. As he thought, it was way too high for him to survive a fall from here. He ran to the small closet and opened it up, curling himself into a ball as he sat in the corner of the closet. He could hear the door of his room open and at least five pairs of feet enter the room. They were talking, and he could hear some of them shouting out in anger "Where did the brat go this time?"

He hugged himself tighter as he could hear them rummage through the room.

A young jounin was just walking past the room at that moment. He had visited some of his friends who were hospitalized at the moment, and he heard shouting from one of the rooms. Since he knew a hospital would be a great target for hostile ninjas to attack, the jounin wasn't about to let this go unnoticed. He walked into the room, ready for battle... but there were none.

"What's going on?" he asked the six nurses. The room looked completely trashed, as they had ripped the bed sheets to shreds, tipped over all the furniture and spilled stale food all over the floor. One of the nurses looked at him before she answered, "One of our patients is gone".

That didn't make any sense to the young jounin. Why would they completely trash the room just because a patient was missing? Judging by the hate apparent in their eyes, he guessed this "patient" had to be someone truly horrible.

Looking around, his ears twitched. What was that? Was that a whimper he could hear from the little closet in the corner of the room? Why the hell hadn't they looked in there? Wouldn't it make more sense for someone to hide in a closet instead of inside the bed sheets? The jounin was glad neither of these idiots had chosen the path of the ninja, because this was beyond embarrassing!

But something didn't make any sense! The level of chakra emitted from the closet wasn't even genin-level. How could anyone with that level of chakra be of any danger to an entire village of ninja?

"Leave this room at once" he ordered, "I'll find your missing patient".

Neither one of the nurses was dumb enough to protest! They knew that the anger of this particular jounin wasn't something they wanted to feel on their selves, so they left. Shutting the door, the jounin looked at the closet. "You can come out now" he said calmly. When nothing happened, he walked over to the closet and opened the door.

Even seasoned ninjas like him could be surprised at times, and this was clearly not what he expected. A little blonde boy was sitting in the corner, hugging himself tightly. What were most disturbing were the injuries visible on the boy's body.

Now, as a jounin, this ninja had seen a lot of pain. He had seen more broken bones and open wounds than most doctors would do in their entire career, yet he was disgusted with the people who could treat a small child this way. No doubt, the little boy wasn't able to trust just anyone, and his beautiful blue eyes where clouded with fear.

"Don't you want to come out?" the young man said. The little boy just shook his head. Naruto wasn't about to trust this masked weirdo if he could help it!

The jounin sighed. 'How the hell do these little persons work either way?' he asked himself. He was a ninja, not a babysitter. His eyes still locked on the boy he sat there in deep thought. He was smart! Not as smart as the average Nara, but he was damned close. He wasn't called a genius for nothing!

Suddenly, the invisible cartoon light bulb appeared over his head. Kid's trusts everything that smiles! He reached for his mask and revealed his face to the little boy. The ninja hadn't even shown his face to the Hokage, so the boy should really feel special. Naruto looked at the ninja's smiling face. 'He's smiling… for me' Naruto thought. The only one who ever gave Naruto a smile was the Hokage himself, and the old man was busy running a god damn shinobi-village.

"Do you want to come out now?" The kind ninja asked, still smiling. He didn't know why, but there was something about this boy that made him feel good and he truly wanted to help. Naruto nodded and slowly climbed out of the closet, looking at his face the entire time.

When he could see the little boy in the light, the ninja suddenly realized just who this little boy was, and now he knew why those stupid nurses tore his room apart while searching. This was the Yondaime Hokage's legacy, Uzumaki Naruto, and he knew that he had to protect the scared little boy from the wrath of the hospital personnel.

He lifted the little boy up and carried him to the bed, sitting down with him firmly planted on his lap. Naruto was confused! What in the ten planes of hell was this guy doing? Didn't he know that he was a monster, and that he was to be hated for everyone else to be happy? He searched the man's one visible eye for the usual feelings he could see in people- anger, hatred and fear. However, he could find nothing but kindness from this man, and he relaxed and let his guard down.

'He must be good at reading people' the ninja thought to himself, 'that will certainly come in handy when he becomes a ninja'. Looking at the boy again, he smiled as the little boy was admiring his hitai-ate. "Nii-san… what is that shiny thingie on your head?" the boy asked. 'Nii-san? Now where did that come from?' the ninja thought, but shrugged it off. He couldn't have known that he was the first person to ever be kind to the boy, and he was just trying to show his affection the only way he knows.

"This is proof of me being a ninja" the young jounin told the boy, smiling as he saw the stars in the young boy's eyes. "Do you want to be a ninja when you grow up?" he asked. Naruto nodded his head, thinking that he could be with kind people like his new nii-san if he became a ninja. "I want to be the bestest ninja in the world" he shouted, making the man chuckle. 'He sure reminds me of his father'.

Suddenly, the door was kicked open. "AH! You found the little demon shinobi-sama" the head nurse said, moving towards the boys. The jounin could feel the killer intent radiate from the woman as she looked at the boy who was hiding behind the ninja and shaking like he could see death himself. "Get your filthy little hands of shinobi-sama this instant" she yelled at the boy, who just increased his hold on the young ninja, "I'm sorry shinobi-sama… I'm going to make sure the little demon learns his place" she said as she stood in front of the two boys.

Naruto was crying again. It is amazing just how many tears kids his age can hide, and Naruto had done a fair share of crying in his short life. The ninja, who had put his mask back on the nanosecond he felt the nurse's presence outside, stood up and glared at the woman in front of him. "Did you forget the Hokage's law Ms…?" he said with a cold voice. Naruto watched in awe as the mean lady almost wet herself, stuttering her pathetic excuses about how the little boy had been being a pain and hurting the other patients. But as everyone who lives in a ninja-village should know: Don't ever lie to a seasoned ninja, or you won't live to regret it.

Naruto's attention suddenly went to the ninja again as he could see a blue aura surround the man. He didn't know it at the time, but only strong doujutsu is able to see the chakra surrounding a shinobi. Suddenly a sound of thousands of birds started to fill the room, and the ninja's hand started to take on an eerie glow. "I have never before been as ashamed of my village as I am now, but I'm going to make sure this boy will survive and grow to become this village's strongest ninja ever. The only problem is people like you, but that can be easily changed" he said. Naruto could clearly see that the head nurse wasn't as cold and collected as she normally is, but was afraid for her own life. With a shriek she turned on her heels and started to run out of the room, only to hear the ninja behind her yell "RAIKIRI" before everything went black.

Hatake Kakashi had promised his sensei, Naruto's late father and the Yondaime Hokage, that nothing bad would ever happen to his legacy, and from that day on he decided to start looking after the little boy. The first thing that had to be done was to get him out of the orphanage, since he could see how the little boy was treated, but that was something he had to ask the Hokage about. Turning around he could see the boy staring at him, but the way he stared made Kakashi calm down. Naruto wasn't afraid of him! He was shocked, yes. But not because he had just been witness to Kakashi thrusting his hand through a woman's chest. He was shocked because someone was willing to go that far… for him!

Naruto knew that he wanted to be a ninja like Kakashi, and he knew that he would have to be a strong boy to get there. Pumping his fists in the air, he looked at Kakashi and smiled as wide as he could. Kakashi knew that he was the first person to ever be on the receiving end of that smile, and he was determined to take good care of the boy from now on.

"I'll make sure your son grows up to be even stronger than you, Sensei" Kakashi smiled and lifted the boy up in an embrace. Before he knew it, Naruto was fast asleep with his arms in an iron grip around Kakashi's neck. "Yes, he's just like you".

_**AN**____**/ Yeah, you may notice that I have edited this chapter and ask yourself why I did that… Simple! I did it because I wanted the name of the Yondaime to be the same in all my chapters, **__**lol**___

_**This story will be a **__**NaruXFemHaku**__** story, with a possible addition of a female Kyuubi if I decide to write the demon as a female. If I do, I have to come up with an original way to release the demon! Either way, **__**enjoy**__** the story!**_


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Updated the chapter since I have decided to use Namikaze Minato's real name in my story, and I had already used Arashi once. It's changed to Minato now!

**Chapter 2: Friends?**

After what happened in the hospital, things could only turn to the better for the young Uzumaki. He is the last of his clan; hated by everyone, loved by no one. That was not good enough!

He still remembered that there was one person, a ninja, out here somewhere who actually cared for him. He hadn't seen the funny man since the accident at the hospital, but he knew that he wanted to be like him. A ninja!

After dealing with the pain of going back to the orphanage, Naruto had lost hope. There was no chance in hell that anyone would want him in their lives? The only thing that kept him going was his little mantra: "If all the hate of the village falls on me, there will be nothing left for anyone else". This way he could feel like his existence was of use to someone, and he felt like a little hero. For a six year old, that was quite a burden.

Shaking of the bad memories, he looked around his new home. An old man had visited the orphanage yesterday, and punished the mean old hag who hurt Naruto so much.

Flashback no Jutsu

Naruto didn't know what the man did, but it sure as hell didn't sound too good! After a little while, the screaming stopped and all that could be heard was a few weak whimpers from the Head Mistress' office. The door had opened, and the old man came straight over to Naruto. Of course, Naruto was pretty sure the man was going to hurt him. I mean, who didn't? But the man only squatted down so he could look Naruto in the eyes, and then he smiled. Not the smiles Naruto saw every day on the faces of the villagers every time they heard his screams of pain when they beat him. No, this was a smile he had only seen once before. On the ninja who saved him.

"You are Naruto-kun, am I right?" the man said, still with a big smile on his face. Naruto slowly opened his eyes to look at the man again. He had a kind face. Like the ones he saw on the old people who played with the kids on the playground. They called it "a grandfather". Naruto had wanted to play with one of the kind people, but their kind faces always changed when he came too close. They were like all the other villagers, as they too hated a certain blonde boy.

"Naaaaarutooo…. Anybody home?" the old man chuckled at the boy who spaced out. A blush adorned his face as soon as he got his mind back where it belonged, and he nodded shyly. He looked at the old man, confusion in his eyes. Who was this old man? Why did he stand up for him?

Sarutobi was called the Professor. Not only because of his incredible knowledge of all things ninja, but also because he was overall well versed in every aspect of the human psyche. He could see Naruto's questions shine through from his eyes, and he was sad about how the boy's life ended up. He had wanted to do something to help the little boy for years now, ever since he got the report from Hatake Kakashi about the incident in the hospital.

Naruto was just staring at the man. He really didn't know what to do in the company of other people, since he usually gets hurt at that point. This time was different, as the man had a comfortable aura surrounding his being, and Naruto felt like he could let his guard down around this man. Suddenly the man spoke up, shaking Naruto from his daydream about playing with this man who maybe would be Naruto's first friend.

"Naruto, do you know what a ninja is?" The Sandaime Hokage asked. Naruto nodded his head and answered, "It's a strong person who does everything in their power to help the people they love, even if their own lives are forfeit."

Sarutobi hadn't expected an answer like that.

When he asked children in the academy, they always answer something like "a cool person with awesome powers."

'This boy just said the exact same thing as young Minato said all those years ago,' the Hokage thought, and let a small chuckle free from his lips. This boy would most certainly prove to be interesting. 'He may even surpass his own father some day.'

Sarutobi smiled again, this time getting a smile in return from the little boy. His smile held a power only seen in the Yondaime himself. He has the power to lighten the mood of anyone, no matter how depressed or angry they are at the time. "Naruto, do you want to be a ninja like that?" Sarutobi asked, arching one of his bushy eyebrows. Naruto looked like his eyes were about to fall out of his skull. "You mean I really can?" he yelled; "The lady at the academy told me I had to have permission from my parents, but I don't have any…" his voice fell.

"Do you know what a Hokage is Naruto?" Sarutobi asked again, looking slightly sad since the bright smile had left the boy's face. He stood up and walked with Naruto through the halls, looking at all the glares the kids and personnel shot the boy when they thought they weren't looking. Naruto shook his head. He had heard about them, and even asked some grownups, but they never told him anything. They were prone to spit on him, or hurt him though. Sensing the boy's falling mood, the Professor hurried on with his lecture.

"Do you love this village?" he asked, only to see the boy in deep though. Naruto had never really thought about it, but he really did love the village. Even with all the pain and hurt, it was still his home, and he hoped that one day they would get over their hate and start acknowledging him as a human being with feelings like everyone else. Naruto looked at the man again and nodded his head yes. Sarutobi just smiled, "As do I. Actually, I am this village's Hokage."

"A kage is the highest rank a ninja can ever obtain. You start out as a genin, work your way through chunin and finally jounin. The strongest of all the ninjas in a village, can get elected to be Hokage, and get the highest position of power in the village. You could say the Hokage is this village's protector, and you have to be able to love everyone in the village equally, even though some of them don't really deserve it. You have to be able to forfeit your own life, just so you could save other lives." Sandaime said.

Naruto was pending all the new information, sucking it up like a sponge. If the Hokage was as great as this man said he was, that would mean that he was equally loved by the village. If he ever became the Hokage, people would be sure to acknowledge him as a person and a ninja.

Sarutobi was amused by the boy's antics. His eyebrows where shrugged, and his eyes shoved deep concentration. His lower lip was firmly attached between his teeth, biting down on it.

Suddenly the boy's head spun around, facing the old man. Concentration was now swapped with excitement as the boy all but yelled out his thoughts. "If a Hokage is so strong, then I'll become one. Just wait and see!"

Sarutobi was taken back for a brief moment. This boy was convinced that he could become Hokage. The boy who had lived through more pain in his short life, than most people does in their entire lifetime, was convinced that he could gain power not for himself, but for the village. He smiled, thinking that Yondaime's sacrifice didn't turn out to be as bad as he first thought. This boy had a better mental strength than even the most seasoned ninja could ever brag of having, and he was completely sane even after his years being hated and hurt. 'He can do it!'!

The Sandaime was convinced of this now, as he let his hand drop to Naruto's hair.

"If you want to grow strong, do it for the right reasons Naruto. Find your precious people, and grow strong protecting them, and the village will eventually come to see how amazing you really are." He said, ruffling the boy's hair in an affectionate manner. Naruto let out a small purr, thinking that this wasn't bad. No, not bad at all!

The Hokage then continued on, telling Naruto that he couldn't have his future ninja and successor living in a place like that orphanage, and they would go looking for an apartment for the young boy.

This brings us back to the present time, when Naruto had just moved what little stuff he owned into his new apartment. It was a small apartment. A living room, with a small kitchen in the corner made the first room, and there was a door leading into a small bedroom, where there was yet another door leading into a small bathroom. It wasn't much, but it was his!

So that was the day when Uzumaki Naruto, six years old, started living by himself. It wasn't that much of a difference though, as he was always ignored at the orphanage, and denied access to the play-room and cafeteria where all the kids got their food. Naruto usually had to do with whatever was left after the other kids had their share, and he had to eat alone in the dark. Now, he was his own king!

No one could tell him what to do as long as he stayed here. This was going to be so sweet!

The next day, Naruto could go out in the city without sneaking out in fear of a beating. He stole a look to the left and right before he ran into a dark alley, not wanting anyone to spot him and decide they wanted some "fun with the demon." He ran through the streets, not being spotted once.

If there's one thing you will learn by having the entire village you live in hate your guts, it's staying hidden at all times. Naruto was actually way better with stealth techniques than most genin, and he was getting better with speed and agility as well.

He didn't know it then, but he had some help from inside helping his body train.

After a while, Naruto came to a place he loved coming to; the park.

He used to come here all the time, hoping he could make some friends. He never did, and the parents seemed to make sure their kids never got too close to him.

He walked into the park, silently aiming for the playground where he heard the kids scream in joy as they laughed and played. 'Maybe someone will play with me as well,' he hoped to himself, but he didn't get his hope up too high.

The park was the only part in Konohagakure that didn't get any damage from the demon's attack six years ago, and it shoved. Beautiful threes and flowers were spread around the park, green fields as long as the eye could see… if you're really near sighted that is. The playground was a giant field of sand, courtesy of some ninja from Sunagakure who visited Konoha a while back. The kids played in the sand, or with the other activities made by the Shodai Hokage and his Mokuton jutsu.

Naruto smiled as he saw some kids his own age playing by the swings, climbing in ropes and playing Tarzan. One of the kids had messy hair like Naruto's, and the tattoo on his face made him look really cool if you asked our little blond demon container. Naruto heard the other kids call the boy Kiba.

One of the other boys looked like clothes, with a patch of hair on top. Naruto was surprised to hear that it was yet another boy, and he was called Shino.

Naruto looked at a slightly chubby boy, playing with his friend. Or at least he was trying to, but his friend was more interested in the sky, so the chubby boy summoned a bag of potato chips out of thin air and started to munch it down, joining his friend in cloud watching. The two boys were Akamichi Chouji, and Nara Shikamaru.

Naruto kept himself hidden in the shadows. Unsure of just how he should act with kids his own age, he just sat there, watching the boys play. What wouldn't he give to join them, if only just once.

For a kid his age, having never experienced the joy of comradeship and playing with your peers… even Naruto knew he was missing a very important aspect of his childhood. The "demon child of Konoha" had no one to call his friend, and have faced more pain and hardships than most people do during their entire lifespan.

No, Uzumaki Naruto may have led a hard life, but has had no one to teach him about simple things like socializing with your peers. This day however, he felt like he could beat the entire world.

He had his own place to stay now!

He was free from the horrible people at the orphanage. He could decide when to go home, and make as much of a mess as he wanted. It was his home after all, and there were no adults to yell at him or beat him close to death for doing what kids do best, make a mess of his room.

With his spirit soaring to previously unseen heights, the young demon carrier took his first steps towards the other kids.

"Hey guys… Who's that blonde kid?" the boy named Kiba asked his friends. He knew he had seen the boy before, but he had never tried communicating with him. The other boys looked at the approaching blonde with curious eyes.

Shikamaru studied the boy closely, his brain working in high gear. He knew this boy from somewhere, but where? Then it hit him. This blonde kid with a smile more brilliant than a thousand suns was the orphan favored by the Hokage himself. The boy hated by close to all of the adults, and the adults seemed to dislike him as well. The boy they would shun like the devil himself and tell their children to never ever get close to.

But this is small children we're talking about. Young boys!

What is it that young boys love more than anything in this world? No, it's not candy… ok, perhaps in Choji's case, but let's be serious. Small boys love to do the exact opposite of what their parents tell them to do.

Shikamaru knew that this could very well annoy his mother so much that she wouldn't even nag him for coming home all dirty from playing in the park. Being nagged for getting dirty is troublesome, and God knows how much Shikamaru hates being nagged at for something that was bound to happen anyway. And troublesome stuff!

With a smile, or as much of a smile the lazy boy could muster, he strode over to the blonde before the boy could get close enough to say anything.

"Hey!" Shikamaru said as he reached his hand out to the blonde, gaining him a confused look for a second before a light seemed to flash on in the blonde's head. "I'm Shikamaru, and these bums behind me are Kiba and Choji, and the jacket with hair is Shino." He said as he shook the blonde's hand. The other boys huffed at the way they were presented and scowled at the boy with the pineapple hairstyle.

Naruto had trouble believing what was going on. Did this boy actually take the initiative, and start a conversation with him? Without any adults coming to their "rescue", shouting horrible stuff at him? Well, this was a first!

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the future Hokage. I want to be the greatest ninja ever, and protect this city with all my power someday," Naruto all but yelled. Maybe this was the day when he would get his first friends?

The boys invited their new friend to play with them, all knowing that what they did was naughty, and they loved it. They also found the blonde to be fun to be around, as he had loads of ideas for pranks neither one of the other boys had ever even thought about.

Shikamaru took a slight pause in their pranks, if just to process some of the stuff he had learned that day. 'Perhaps the adults are the ones in the wrong here, and Naruto has to suffer for their ignorance? He really isn't a bad person, that much I can tell, and he's lonely. I guess being his friend wouldn't be too bad!'

Naruto himself couldn't believe his luck. He had gained his first friends!

He had escaped from that horrible orphanage, moved into his own home, gotten to know the Hokage as well as how it may feel like to have family, and now… he had made his first friends. If you could measure happiness in money, little Naruto had gone from the poorest person in the village, to the richest in less than two weeks.

The boys played in the park. Naruto found out his stealth skills helped him greatly in hide and seek, and his speed was awesome when they played ball. The other boys where in awe of his skills, and wanted to meet every day so they could learn from him how to strengthen their own skills before they started the ninja academy.

This however brought a question to Naruto's lips.

"Ninja Academy?"

The other boys made perfect 10/10 faceplants at this question. How the hell could he NOT know about the academy? It may be troublesome, but Shikamaru decided to tell him everything he knew about the school, confused about how the hell the boy could make his eyes sparkle.

The boys promised to meet up again soon, and plan their stay in the ninja academy.

Naruto, having no one to talk to about his newfound knowledge, changed his goal from "head home and chill" to "go ask the old geezer how he could enter the academy and grow to be the greatest ninja ever known."

At this point, no one could have known they had just witnessed the beginning of a legend greater than any.

**AN: Well then, there you go. This will most likely be the last chapter based solely on the childhood of our hero, so expect a time skip in the next chapter. I'm not interested in doing the whole "Naruto finds a Mary Sue who trains him to become Super Naruto, and he's jounin level at his genin graduation" ****thingie**** that most authors here seem so fond of. I will try to let Naruto grow a ****little bit faster than the original, but I have plans for him (not very original, but still) that will change his life and dreams.**

**I have also decided to turn this ****fic**** from being a Harem ****fic**** (at least for now) into a ****NaruFemHaku**** story. ****I'll leave one thing up to you though:**

**I have not decided if whether to make Kyuubi a ****woman or a man. If the demon is a she, this story will be a love ****triangle between Naruto, ****Haku**** and Kyuubi. If it's a guy, he will be Naruto's "friend" and sensei/training partner. ****I'll let you guys decide, so REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: ****Secret revealed**

There comes a time in every ones lives where you have to just sit down and reflect on where your actions has taken you in life. Sarutobi Sasuke had just reached that point, and he was a little bit confused about what to think about everything.

When his student's favorite student surprised everyone by surpassing all three of the three Sannin, Sarutobi's own students, in power and popularity he couldn't hide his smirk while informing the council. When the blonde genius advanced through the grades of a shinobi in record time, he surprised them again. When he fought on Konoha's side in the great Shinobi War, and more or less won the war by himself using his two price techniques, the Rasengan and the Hiraishin, the city thought his greatness had reached its limit.

It didn't come as a surprise to anyone when Sarutobi announced Namikaze Minato as his successor, the Yondaime Hokage.

The Hokage is the strongest ninja in the village after all, and Minato was the only Konoha ninja ever to reach the rank of an SS-rank ninja in the Bingo Books, and the only person to ever get a "flee on sight" order on his head by the Iwa-shinobi, known in all the elemental nations for their bravery and great skills.

But now, when Sarutobi looked back on those years, he now knew that this was the catalyst where everything started to go down the drain, and also the beginning of the events guilty of shoving tons of stress on an old man.

Said old man knew that this was where his carefully planned lifespan started to crack, even though he knew that there was little he could do about that fact.

_"__I was supposed to retire back then, and live my life in peace as a council member. I was going to take great pleasure in teaching both my son and grandson the ways of the Sarutobi shinobi, but it all had to end… __Minato__…"_

Even though Minato had been Jiraiya's student, the Sandaime Hokage had always been rather fond of the blonde lad. As an orphan, Minato had grown up in an orphanage. Back then being an orphan was the same as being human trash, at least in the eyes of the great clans of Konoha.

The Hyuuga clan had never accepted the boy, and their influence made the smaller clans afraid to befriend the boy, and thus he grew up friendless and lonely.

A life like that can do horrible things to a child's psyche, yet Minato somehow stayed sane. He was always full of cheer, and was never afraid to show his emotions. He never stopped trying to get the attention of the other villagers, and was like a mother hen every time he noticed someone with a depressed look on their faces.

Sarutobi smiled, a slightly sad smile yes, but still a smile.

_''__Minato__, you had an amazing gift," _he thought to himself, _"the ability to make even the most depressed person smile__. I don't know if it can be classified as a bloodline, or a trait of your personality, but it only made you a great ally in times of need." _

Sarutobi's smile never left his face. _"You would have been so proud __Minato__… your son is just like you! He has grown up in an environment even more hostile than you__ ever had to face on your own__, yet he grew up to be just like you." _He took a deep breath before he continued.

_"__Minato__… You would have been so proud!"_

Looking at the mountains of unfinished paperwork on the desk in front of him, he just looked at a picture that mysteriously appeared in his hand. _"__Minato__… W__hy did you have to die? Why did you leave your son alone, and force me to continue a job I already had accepted as a thing of my past… Why didn't you let me do that sealing?"_

At that thought, the Sandaime Hokage fell asleep, a lone tear slowly running down his cheek.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Uzumaki Naruto was in a great mood!

In two days, he was about to graduate from the Ninja Academy. He was two day from taking the first step towards his goal… his dream. He was going to become the strongest ninja in the world, and protect everyone precious to him. He would become the greatest Hokage ever and protect this village, because he loved them all, even though they all seemed to hate him.

_"If hating me makes these people feel safe, then I will survive this for their sake" _he thought to himself.

He was twelve years old, but his young shoulders held a burden greater than even the Hokage himself could stand.

The old man was Naruto's most treasured person in the entire village, and the only adult to give Naruto comfort when he was depressed after the villagers had done something particularly awful.

"I'm going to tell the old man how much he means to me" he said to himself, finding more resolve than needed for such a simple task. For someone so inexperienced with affection, it was only natural to be confused about how he should do this.

Walking through the streets of the town, he greeted everyone who locked eyes with him with a bright smile and a quick 'good morning', only to ignore the hurtful replies and comments from the villagers.

_"Sticks and stones Naruto… sticks and __stones."_

The mantra rang in his mind in full surround sound with the bass amped up all the way to **"DEATH"**.

At these early hours, the streets of Konoha were completely bare of the usual traffic of the money-crazed villagers out on their daily browse'n-shop routines. The shops was just starting to open up, and thus Naruto could safely walk through the streets without having to look over his shoulder every five minutes to see if he was being followed by villagers looking for some fun.

He was talking from personal experience of course… a rather unpleasant one at that. He never enjoyed his stays at the Konoha Hospital!

Still with his idiot grin plastered all over his face, he walked towards the Hokage tower to speak with the only person he thinks of as family. He stole a glance of the Hokage Mountain, or more specifically; The Yondaime Hokage, before he started on the stairs up to the Hokage office. For some reason, the sight of the deceased Hokage always served to calm him down.

Well then, up we go!

_"One step, two steps, three steps, four__ steps__… I hate these God damned steps!" _

Even with all the love Naruto keeps in his heart for his surrogate grandfather, he's never comfortable visiting him during office hours. It could be because the secretary hates him with a passion, or maybe because he always has to wait for her to "call the Hokage", but she never really does. Naruto is left sitting there until the Hokage feels the slight chakra he's blasting off and comes out to get him himself.

This time however, things were different. The bitch-secretary wasn't there!

"Hello Uzumaki-san, what can I do for you today?"

What the hell? Jiisan has a new secretary? And it's a nice one to boot?

Naruto was stunned. This woman instantly moved up to his love and protect list, and he rewarded her with the brightest smile he could muster.

"Hi," he more or less yelled at the top of his youthful lungs, "I want to see the old man. Are you new here? What's your name? You're pretty! You don't hate me?" the questions seemed to be endless for the poor girl.

She had accepted the job with great pride when the Hokage himself had asked her in person, and she knew it was because he somehow knew that she didn't look down on the boy. Actually, she had seen him talk to her best friend, Ichiraku Ayame, on several occasions, and they seemed so cute together. Like siblings!

"My name is Suisen Hana, but you can call me Hana-chan like everyone else. Yes, I'm new, and thank you for the kind words. And no, I don't hate you!" Hana said to the smiling bundle of sunshine currently skipping in front of her.

Now, Hana was old enough to know what was residing inside this particular young boy, but she was also smart enough to understand that he wasn't the demon fox.

Why would anyone even think that? Wouldn't he have killed them all ages ago if he really was the demon?

No, Hana thought of the young boy as a hero. A hero who fights the strongest demon in existence every day and still manages to win.

At the moment, said hero was in ecstasy.

Yet another person had smiled at him, which makes about… five.

Naruto just walked over to the girl and gave her a quick hug, before he took a step back and flashed the girl his patented foxy grin. "I like you! When I have the old man's job, I'll protect you with my life."

Hana couldn't help but smile at that.

Now she was more certain than ever. Naruto was not the Kyuubi!

Naruto looked at the girl as she seemed to be lost in thought. "Oyh… Hana-chan? Can I see the old man now?" he asked, waving his hand in front of the dazed girl's eyes.

Hana snapped out of it, and turned back to Naruto.

She browsed through some papers on her desk before she smiled at him. "Of course Naruto-kun, just walk right in. I'm sure Hokage-sama will be happy to see you."

Naruto just smiled at her again, and turned to the Hokage's door. This was the moment he had dreaded all day. The moment when he would tell the Hokage just how much he meant to him, and how he thought of him as his only family.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto gathered his limitless courage and opened the door and stepped inside the office of his jiisan.

The Hokage himself was, as usual, drowning in paperwork and silently cursing the Yondaime for cursing him with this… this horrible fate, and sat there wishing for something to come up. Anything!

That's when his door slammed open, causing him to jump slightly from the bluntness of this person's actions. Well, it didn't take much for the fabled Professor to guess who his savior was.

A second later he found himself trapped in a furious hug from his adopted grandson, Uzumaki Naruto. The old man smiled and returned the hug, silently thanking whoever was watching over him for letting him have a break from work.

Letting his hand ruffle the young boy's hair, Sarutobi let a chuckle break the silence. "Do you think you can let go of me now Naruto-kun? It's getting hard to breathe."

Not wanting to be the one who strangled his most precious person to death, Naruto quickly let go. The boy let a small blush grace his whiskered cheeks and scratched the back of his head, letting out a slightly embarrassed laugh. "Sorry Jiji… I guess I'm more excited about graduating from that stupid academy than I thought."

Naruto had started the academy at the same time his friends did. Sadly they hadn't been able to keep in touch as much as they would like, since the other boys had to train with their families and rarely had time off to hang out with Naruto.

So when he wasn't at school, Naruto was either training by himself or visiting the Hokage.

Naruto looked at the man he was here to visit, his only family. The old man was getting old, almost too old for this tiresome work, but you could tell that he was still the most powerful shinobi in the entire village. Naruto had learned at an early age to read a person's body language so he could react faster when confronted by shady villagers, and Naruto could tell by the way Sarutobi moved that he was more nimble and aware than most shinobi could ever hope to be.

But strange enough, he couldn't read the old man's face this time. Sarutobi had an expression on his face that looked very thoughtful, or perhaps even… afraid? Was the old man afraid of something? Was he afraid of him?

"Are you ok old man?" he inquired from the older shinobi with concern apparent in his voice. Sarutobi didn't react, and Naruto felt like he looked right through him, as if he wasn't really there. This feeling was one he had hoped never to feel again… the feeling of being invisible and ignored.

Meanwhile, Sarutobi had lost himself in thought when he saw the way Naruto had reacted when he let go of the hug. 'He behaves so much alike his parents it's almost scary," he thought, not noticing a hand waving in front of his eyes.

The Hokage didn't notice his hand waving right in front of his face or his constant yelling, and Naruto was starting to worry about the old man. That is, he worried up to the point when Sarutobi returned his senses and cleared his throat, scaring his surrogate grandson half to death in the process.

"Naruto, there is something I have to tell you!"

Now, even if most of the village thinks so, Naruto was anything but stupid and he knows when he is supposed to sit down and shut the hell up. This was without a doubt one of those times!

Sarutobi waited for Naruto to settle down in a chair before he gulped. Was he really going to tell the boy this? He could only hope Naruto wouldn't hate him after he was done.

"Naruto, I think it's time for me to tell you something. I have been the one in charge of looking after you since your birth, and I know I have mostly failed in my duty given to me by your parents. You have grown so much since the day Kakashi saved you in the hospital, and I know your parents would be so proud of you."

The Hokage had moved his chair to the other side of the table, so he could look into Naruto's eyes without the desk coming in between.

"I'm an old man Naruto. I'm a father, and a grandfather in addition to being the Hokage. It's a lot of responsibility, but I'm glad I decided to keep you in Konoha. You have become more and more like family to me, and I see you as my oldest grandson, and I know Konohamaru thinks of you as his older brother as well. You have a family here with us Naruto. You may not be family by blood, but you're as much of a Sarutobi as I am if you ask me."

Naruto was tearing up at hearing this. He had family now! He was supposed to tell Sarutobi how he felt, but he never thought the old man felt the same way. He continued to listen to the old man speak.

"The one thing you have to know if you want to be part of a family is that we all trust each other and love each other unconditionally. No matter what you do, we will always be there for you Naruto."

The blonde jinchuriki was experiencing a troublesome aspect of the human physique, namely an unholy pressure behind his eyes, willing tears to run freely down his cheeks. With a loud cry of 'jiisan', Naruto flung himself at the old man and caught him in a furious hug yet again.

People of Konoha held great respect for the old Hokage, and they had never seen the man shed tears. He did not cry when his successor died, when his student turned rogue, or when his son was born. He didn't even allow himself to cry in public when his beloved wife passed away, mourning her death in solitude. But this feeling of love and gratitude was too much even for Sarutobi Sasuke, and he could feel warm tears fall from his eyes as he held his grandson.

The two of them stayed like that for a while, until Naruto broke free of the embrace and placed his bum back in his seat. Naruto was radiating an aura of love and content, and his eyes seem to give a faint blue glow giving him an eerie look, but not at all unpleasant.

Naruto took a couple of seconds to gather his mind and to blink the tears from his eyes. Clearing his throat, he looked up at the man who had just given him the best present he could ever wish for, a family.

"I can't tell you how much this means to me Jiji," he said with a genuine smile on his face. "I have grown up in a way most children wouldn't be able to live through. The pain of being alone, hated by everyone, loved by no one… I have you to thank for pulling me through this. I live in a shinobi village where the majority of the villagers detest me… everyone but you."

Naruto took a deep breath, trying his hardest not to break down and cry again. It was so confusing! Why would everyone hate him so much?

The old man had a sad frown on his face, once again wondering how strong a will this young boy possessed. A mental strength to overcome such hardships must be well fitted for a genius ninja, and he would make sure Naruto would at one point receive the recognition he so rightfully deserves.

He looked at the boy sitting before him. He was so small… so frail.At that point, Uzumaki Naruto looked more like a child than he had done in years!

Naruto took that moment to break the silence again, his emotions under control.

"I don't even know why!" he choked out, emotional wall crumbling again.

"I don't know why everyone in this village hates me. All I know is that they do, and that I suffer for it. You know the boys I played with before the academy started? They are the only ones in this entire village who have ever tried to make my life any easier, and I owe them so much for it. But when we started the academy, we slowly drifted apart as their families trained them to be ninja. If I asked anyone if they could help me, all I would get is a dirty look. Why? What have I ever done to them?"

Naruto was yelling at this point, with tears dripping from his chin. Sarutobi didn't know what to say, so he did what any grandfather would do to help his grandson in a moment like this… he hugged him.

The two sat like that for what seemed like ages.

A young man crying… was letting all of his pain out for the first time in years. The older man tried his best to ease the pain, and sharing the enormous burden the young man had carried for all his life.

Sarutobi knew what he had to do, and there was no other way around it. He could not chicken out on this one, even if it could mean that he would lose his grandson forever.

The Hokage schooled his face and removed the young boy from his embrace.

"Naruto, there is one more thing I have to tell you. Something that may cause you to hate me, but I can't stand seeing you live in ignorance and the pain of not knowing why. Not anymore!"

At that point, Naruto was starting to catch the seriousness in the old man's words, and kept his mouth shut again.

"On the day you were born, Konoha was under attack. The great demon Kyuubi no Kitsune had chosen our city as its dinner plate, and attacked us. We couldn't do anything to hurt the demon, and many good shinobi lost their lives that day. The best of them all was your father Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage."

Naruto looked shell-shocked. The Yondaime was his father? Why the hell would this blasted city hate the only son of their most beloved hero since the first Hokage?

"At this point, your mother had just given birth to you. She had been experiencing great difficulties with the delivery, and her life was in danger. The nurses and doctors were doing everything they could to save her, and your father couldn't stay there to help her through this. I remember the look of pain in his eyes as he realized what he had to do. He realized he would never be there to see you take your first step, or see you graduate from the academy. He would have to use a jutsu of his creation to stop the demon, but the cost would be his own life. He would have to seal the demon away!"

The Hokage took a deep breath and looked at his surrogate grandson to check if he was still with him. He was!

"Now, many people would say the Kyuubi was a being of great evil. It was described as ruthless, deadly and completely emotionless. This however, was a complete lie! The Kyuubi is a being of great power. A power so great it would be more accurate to describe the fox as a natural disaster, but it is still only a fox. It lies in a fox' nature to prank and trick humans, and the people first saw Kyuubi as an annoyance. My great-great grandfather, Sarutobi Sousuke, fought the Kyuubi at one point. He lost of course, but the Kyuubi did not kill him. It actually talked to him, and told him it respected his power before it rewarded him with the Ape Summoning contract."

Naruto was wondering where Sandaime was going with this, but he couldn't help feeling slight dread from where he thought it was going.

"This gift combined with the Kyuubi's words made my ancestor realize that the Kyuubi was not an evil being, but rather a being without restraints. If provoked, it could be a deadly foe, but it could also be your greatest ally if befriended. Somehow, the Kyuubi had decided to attack Konoha, and my clan could not fathom the reason behind its actions, but we knew it had to be stopped. This is where your father came in. Namikaze Minato was a Seal Master unlike any the world had ever seen, and he had come up with a seal which would trap the Kyuubi in exchange of the users own life. The only problem was the sheer strength of the Kyuubi, and the loss of the ancient Tool of Power that was the only container strong enough to hold the Kyuubi's essence. The only thing he could do was to seal the enormous amounts of chakra into a human, but the only problem was that he would need a human without developed chakra pathways… he would need a newborn baby."

Naruto's eyes widened at that. He knew where Sarutobi was going with this now, and he sure as hell didn't like it!

"He sealed it within me, didn't he?" Naruto said, looking like a dog whose master had just struck him. His own father had doomed him to a life of scorn and hatred, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Sarutobi somehow knew what Naruto was thinking as he got an angry look in his eyes.

"Your father didn't have a choice Naruto. He was the greatest Hokage in Konoha's history, and he was the only shinobi strong enough to stop the fox. He chose you because he loved you, and wanted a part of himself to be with you always. The seal containing the Fox is your father's soul. He loved you enough to give his own life to let you live, and I don't want you to believe anything else."

Naruto let a hand glide carefully over his stomach, feeling the heat of the now glowing seal. His father may have given him a fate worse than death to someone, but it was his way of the ninja. His own son would be the one to hold back the fox from another attack every day for the rest of his life, and this son was Uzumaki Naruto… No, it was Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto now.

He smiled a sad smile at the Hokage, forgetting the pain he had felt only seconds ago, only to have it replaced by pride. His father was the God damned Yondaime Hokage, and he was not going to dishonor his father's memory by sulking and brooding. He would live his life to the fullest, both for himself and his father.

"He really did love me, didn't he?" he said, looking his grandfather straight in the eyes.

The old man just smiled and nodded his head, secretly relieved that his grandson had taken this so well.

"Did you know that you did something no newborn infant have ever done before?" the Hokage chuckled to himself. "When Minato first held you in his arms, he wanted nothing more than to die with you and your mother. However, you opened your eyes and looked straight at him, and then you smiled! You should see the face Minato showed us at that point. There was nothing but resolve and pride in his stride as he walked out of the hospital with you in his arms, starting to prepare for the sealing."

Naruto could only smile at that. So his father had seen his first smile? That was a good feeling!

Naruto and Sarutobi just continued sitting there. Sarutobi shared some of his memories from the days he spent training Minato and his own student Jiraiya of the Sannin, and Naruto asked questions about his father.

Sarutobi knew that this boy would be the one to surpass his father in strength, and he could be the only one who could ever have stood against Kyuubi's might. The only thing he needed was training, and Sarutobi would see to it that he would get the best training he could possibly get.

"Naruto, even if the villagers think of you as the human embodiment of the Kyuubi, do you still want to protect them?" he asked the blonde.

Naruto looked like he was concentrating way too hard for such a simple question before he turned around. Sarutobi looked at his back with a sinking heart. 'So he can't forgive them for his childhood after all?" he thought sadly.

"I guess I will just have to prove to them that I'm not the demon by becoming the greatest Hokage ever." Naruto all but yelled out as the older man's head whipped up to look at the boy. Naruto's eyes were identical to the ones his father had shown the day he sealed the demon. Eyes with nothing but pride and resolve!

"That's good to hear Naruto, because you will be forced to train harder than anyone else if you want to reach that dream. You won't become Hokage by slacking off, so I guess I have to teach you a couple of things that would help you out then. With your enormous amounts of chakra, I guess your control is sub-par, am I right?" the Hokage asked, getting a firm nod in reward.

So the Hokage told Naruto about his chakra, and that his chakra pathways were larger than most humans so they could withstand the huge bursts of chakra the Kyuubi would be able to give him. But the more chakra you start out with, thus harder will gaining control of it be. With Naruto's huge chakra pools, he couldn't do simple techniques like the Bunshin no Jutsu, so he would have to learn something to remove that problem.

"Naruto, have you heard of the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?" Sarutobi said with a smile.

**AN****Yay****… An update! Now, doesn't that feel good? It sure does! I'm sorry for the long wait for this chapter, even if it wasn't as long as the wait for the second chapter. Now rejoice, as the wait for the next chapter will be even smaller since I'm almost done with it already. This chapter is also about 1500 words longer than my chapters usually get, so I guess that's something?**

**The next chapter will start off with Naruto at graduation day, so I'll just straight past the training he did with his gramps. I wonder if he will kick ****Mizuki**** in the ****pokéballs**** Actually, I know he will. ****Big surprise there, no?**** Either way… I'll have the next chapter out by Saturday, which just happens to be my birthday!! I'm turning 20 years old this Saturday, so remember to congratulate me ok! (****not**** a question, but an order).**** So stay tuned for chapter four: "I'm not just a genin"**


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